Washington D.C, Aug 3 : With green foods reigning supreme in recent years, it seems only natural that green drinks should too, but unfortunately, eco-wines come with a stigma that they suck.
Now, science shows that eco-certified wines are not only good for the environment, but also taste better and are much cheaper.
Though consumers remain reluctant to spend more on wine from organic grapes, a research from the University of California - Los Angeles showed that in blind taste-tests, professional wine reviewers gave eco-certified wines higher ratings than regular ones.
The study looked at reviews and scores for more than 74,000 California wines from the magazines Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator.
On a standardized 100-point scale, eco-certified wines scored an average of 4.1 points higher. "The bottom line is that however we look at it, we find that organic and biodynamic farming has these small but significant positive effects on wine quality," said lead author Magali Delmas.
Though the paper studied only California wines, the research team expects the results to apply broadly, since California produces 90 percent of the wine in the United States.
The preliminary findings on a study looking at French wine show similar results, added Delmas. The study looked at eco-certified wines, which included wine made with grapes from organic and biodynamic farms, but did not include a third kind of eco-certified wine: organic wine.
Organic wine refers not only to how the grapes were grown but also how the wine was made. Most notably, organic wine cannot contain added sulfites, an important preservative, Delmas said. Delmas believes preservative-free organic wine, which was once known for souring quickly, may be one culprit behind consumers' unwillingness to pay more for any kind of eco-certified wine.
But the misperception that all eco-certified wine is worse "is good news for consumers, because they will get higher-quality wine at a lower price," she said.
Delmas hopes the research will inspire vintners to show off their eco-certifications more boldly and encourage more wineries to take up environmental practices.
The study is published in the Journal of Wine Economics..
Source: ANI
